DENVER - Colorado's bighorn sheep are again benefitting from a major donation that supports research, transplants and habitat improvements.
The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society presented the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission with a $149,325 check, representing the proceeds from the Society's 2011 auctions and raffles of highly sought-after bighorn sheep, mountain goat and pronghorn licenses.
"The annual fundraising represents sportsmen's dedication to wildlife conservation and research through the Colorado special license program," said Robert Ong, President of the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society. Each year one Rocky Mountain bighorn license is issued by auction and one license is issued to the winner of a raffle that is open to anyone. "The bighorn sheep is Colorado's official mammal and these successful fundraising efforts have raised more than $2 million since 1989 to help protect its heritage and habitat."
In 2010, auction and raffle funding was used for several projects including: an assessment of bighorn populations and demographics in the Pikes Peak herd, a study on lamb survival, monitoring of desert bighorn sheep in western Colorado, and reestablishing Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the northern Sangre de Cristo mountains and desert bighorn sheep in the Middle Dolores River.
In 2011, auction and raffle funds are funding 11 bighorn sheep projects including several prescribed burns conducted by the United States Forest Service, vaccine research, and additional transplants in the Sangre de Cristo mountains and Dolores River.
While some states sell what are known as "Governor's Tags", Colorado uses a system where wildlife conservation organizations auction or raffle special licenses that allow the recipient to hunt the species in any open hunting unit. Proceeds are then split, with 75 percent going to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife to support species management, research, and education efforts and 25 percent staying with the conservation organization to fund conservation projects and operations. A Project Advisory Committee reviews proposals and makes recommendations on what projects to fund to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director. The Project Advisory Committee is made up of representatives from each conservation organization, the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
